Oil-well construction



. glvwcutew I @5034 F RICHMOND V OIL WELL CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 15, 1924 Nov. 10, 1925 Patented Nov. 1925.

1,560,859 PATENT OFFICE.

) FRED RICHMOND, 0F OILFIELDS, CALIFORNIA.

OIL-WELL CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed December 15, 1924. Serial No. 755,9 53.

'To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, FRED RIoHMoNn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oilfields, in the county of Fresno and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in OileW'ell Constructions, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. 7

This invention relates to an improvement in well constructions and it has for its object to provide a means to render it possible to add a section of pipe, from time to time, to the inner pipe in a well that is being drilled in gaseous formations, without stopping the How or circulation of the well.

The method heretofore employed to ac-' complish the result stated has been to pump in mud of sufficient density to entirely stop the circulation of the well, causing it to be dead or quiet at the surface. This being accomplished the stuffing box casing head was taken apart and the packing taken out to allow for the passage of the coupling of the joint to be put in. 'After the coupling was lowered the necessary distance the stuffing box casing head was replaced and circulation started again by pumping mud into the inside pipe and venting it on the outside below the stuffing box casing head. This procedure is slow, sometimes requiring many tons of mud and several days time to kill the well. Furthermore, such procedure is very expensive.

In addition there is constant danger under the method stated that suflicient gas pressure will accumulate at the bottom of the hole to force all of the mud out and cause damage to the hole by getting out of control and blowing out.

Furthermore there is a Very evident danger of the pipe becoming frozen or immovable when the circulation is stopped due to the fact that mud and other formations in thewell, have a tendency to collect around the pipe and especially the coupling of the pipe, when the motion of the gases is stopped.- By my invention, hereinafter illustrated and described, I am able to avoid the necessity of stopping the circulation of the well but, upon the contrary am able to add joints of pipe at will without the necessity of pumping in any mud or interfering in any way with the circulation of the well.

Further objects and advantages of the in- I vention will be set forth'in the detailed description which follows: I

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section of apparatus constricted in accordance with the invention, an I Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view upon line 22 of Figure 1.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in both of the figures of the drawing.

In the drawing 5 designates the usual fixed casing and 6 the inner tubing which must be added to from time to time and passed down into the well and inside ofthe casing 5. as the drilling progresses. In known apparatus of this character, a stufling box is usually provided upon the top of the casing 5' which forms a tight joint about *one of which is illustrated at 7 and which comprises complemental semi-circular elements adapted to be closed around the tubing 6, see Figure 2, in such manner as to prevent passage of gas or other 'Ifiuid through the space between the casing 5 and the tubing 6. I utilize one of the blow out preventers aforesaid in conjunction with a short sectional pipe or nipple 8 which extends upwardly from the top. of the blow out reventer and has the usual stuffing box 9 up its upper end. A-by pass p1pe 10 establishes communication between thenipple 8 and that portion of the blow out preventer below the point of cut off of said blow out'preventer. A valve 11 is disposed 1n the pipe 10 and a relief valve 12 1s adapted to discharge from'the pipe 10 to the atmosphere as hereinafter set forth. The blow out preventer 7 comprisesthe casing 13 in which the heads-14are-longitud nally movable under the influence of -operating;hand' wheels 15 in amanner-commonin large-1 valve constructions. Theh'eads ltfitsnugly within the cylinder 13 and have confronting semi-circula. faces 16 in which are seated rubber or other packing rings 17, adapted to make a tight joint about the tubing fi when the heads 14 are moved toward each other to their limit of movement.

The detail construction of the blow out preventer is no part of the present invention. Any suitable type of shut ofi' means may be provided below the nipple 8. The invention resides more particularly in the provision of the nipple 8 or its equivalent with the stufling box thereon'in conjunction with a shut off means therebelow, irrespectiveof -what p'articular type of shut off means I may see fit to employ. The invenlieving the pressure insaid nipple. 6 designates the section of tubing to be added and 6 the coupling by which the section 6 is united with. the tubing 6. The glands 9 and 9 respectively are removed or, alternately, the whole stuifing box may be unscrewed from the top of the nipple. Then the tubing 6 and coupling 6' are screwed on to the tubing 6, and the whole lowered until the coupling 6 lies within the nipple 8, after which the stufling box, or the packing, as the case may be, is restored to its original position and'made to'constitute a tight joint about the section 6. Then valve 12 is closed and valve 11 is opened to equalize the pressure in casing 5 and nip-' ple and then the heads 14 are moved apart to restore free connection between nipple 8.

and casing 5. After the heads 14 have been separated the coupling 6 may pass downwardly through the blow out preventer u il the next coupling is close to the top of he stufling box. The operation recited maybe repeated as necessary. Of course in pulling the tubing out of the well, the w ment, a chamber located above the shut off "device of such amplitude as to receive a drill process is reversed.

The reason for keeping the blowout preventer open at all times except when sections of tubing are being added as above set forth is that this reduces wear on the packing of the blow out preventer to a minimum. This packing would last but a very short time if it were. in constant contact with the tubing. However, the presence of the blow out preventer is a safeguard since it is available at all timesand can be shut off if the packing head gets out of order or the well comes in.. The by pass line is of great value since it is very hard to operate the blow out preventer Without equalizing the pressure in the nipple 8 and casing 5.

It is to be understood that the invention is not. limited to the precise construction set forth but that it includes within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims. 7

Having described my invention, what .I claim is:

1. The combination with a casing and a drill element movable therein, of a shut off device adapted to make a tight joint between the casingand the exterior of the tubing, a chamber of such size as to house a tubing coupling, located above the cut ofi device and a packing head carried by said casing.

2. A structure as recited in claim 1 in combination with a by-pass line extending from said chamber to a point below the cut oil device.

3. A structure as recited in claim I in combination with a by pass line, extending from the chamber to a point below the shut off device and means for venting said chamber to the atmosphere.

4. A device of the character described comprising a casing and a drilling element therein, a shut off device comprising elements adapted to form a tight joint about the exterior of the drilling element, a fixed nipple extending upwardlyfrom the shut off device through which the'packing element moves, and a packing head upon the upper end of the nipple and a by-pass line extending from said nipple to a point below the shut oft device.

5. A structure as recited in claim 4, in combination with means for venting said nipple to the atmosphere.

6. The combination with a casing and a drill element therein, of a shut ofl device adapted to. make a tight joint between the casing and the exterior of the drill ele- FRED RIGHMOND. 

